Dave Harden near his home in Carrollton, MO

Dave Harden was born in 1865 to William H. Harden and Susan Hardwick. His father died soon after, and Susan remarried. In 1879 Dave officially requested a neighbor, Westley Rodgers, to be named his guardian, probably because of conflicts with his stepfather. He married Sarah Jane Newsom in 1894, and they had 6 children. Dave worked at a variety of jobs and eventually had a shoe repair shop off the town square in Carrollton. Dave was also a fiddler and fiddle maker.